Hesodra's Fall
Important Events The war against Hesodra was a long and strenuous siege for both parties, that lasted 2 months in total. During which time The current Warden; Vorian Arathel the 10th of his line, worked alongside the city of Ulrok and Dragonbane to gather the needed equipment, resources, and information in order to make a sortie into Hesodra's war camp. In the end, Hesodra was slain and for still unknown reasons Dragonbane betrayed the trust of Vardenwall and Ulrok. The story of Ulrok's aid The following sections tell the tale of how Ulrok lent aid to Vardenwall during the war Chapter 1: What lurks in the woods Throughout the course of a few weeks, villages north of Ulrok began to lose contact with the city. And as such adventurers were sent out to investigate the disappearances. However upon the arrival the party consisting of Randall, Nesston, Candid, Daevan, and Danzel discovered the village shrouded with green mist and littered with bodies both indoors and out. And after some exploration, they stumbled upon a small child named Theodore trapped in the material plane as a ghost. Through him they learned that 'the lizards came, and one was flying and sent down green air'. He asked them to find his mother for him, which they agreed to do. However as they began to work their way further they were certain one thing was for certain, a dragon destroyed this village. But this conclusion left something nagging at the back of their minds, if a dragon attacked this village, why did it not take any loot? It wasn't like the village had no wealth,There was plenty of coins and jewelry albeit on the cheaper side. But it was while they were thinking on this that they were ambushed by drakes, which after a fierce battle where several of them nearly died, and a couple of drakes attempted to flee before being cut off(literally) by Vardenwall agents. Who after the fight exchanged information about the city of Vardenwall being under siege by Hesodra, and them being sent out to investigate the reason. However the party had no new information to lend, though they did agree to inform the leaders of Ulrok about the situation in Vardenwall. At which point they spent the night to recuperate from the battle. And in the morning returned to the village to cremate the deceased, and attempt to find Theodore's mother, or at least something of hers to bring the boy to peace. Which they managed, but not before having to contend with a Wyvern which attempted to eat Nesston's goat. They managed to defeat it easily and finished their business in the village and checking up on Theodore, but to no avail could not find him. Which lead to the party at least hoping the boy had moved on, which they did too returning to Ulrok to report their findings. Chapter 2: Friends in need Having heard of Vardenwall's plight the Ulrokian leaders sent out a group to Vardenwall via the teleportation circles. This diplomatic group consisted of Dorian, Althaea, and Jayvan. Once there they proceeded to uncover information about the siege from the outside walls, before gaining entry into the city and making their way to the Skyfire Citadel. There they met with the war council who were in debate on what actions they could take to respond to Hesodra's seemingly random tactics. During their meeting they were interrupted by a group calling themselves Dragonbane who offered their services and knowledge to help destroy Hesodra. After which the group set out to find a gnome arcanist named Wilfred Fizzlebang, who is a hermit living in the mountains south of the city. When they found him he was in a gargantuan dwelling alongside a stone giant named Jaraxxus, after some persuasion they convinced him to return to Vardenwall, to construct a Ballista bolt designed and enchanted to ground Hesodra leaving her landlocked. After they returned Warden Vorian Arathel informed them of the two items they would want to fell Hesodra, That being a mysterious ring that was related to the Elemental plane of Air, and a freelance Dragon slayer named Holger Clauberg who wields a blade of ancient dwarven origin designed to destroy dragons. With this knowledge in tow the party returned to Ulrok to get parties ready to hunt down the two objectives. Chapter 3: The missing gem With the information gathered a party was assembled to hunt down the other half of the ring, a gem that was extracted from it's inlay. It was believed to be to the south in a long ruined village near the Cottonborn territories. The party consisted of Fera, Feylla, Brenviel, Ruben, and Phann. After a briefing on the little information they had the party set out to the south, on a journey that would take twelve days to complete. Upon arrival the sky was darkening as a building storm front loomed overhead, growing more and more foreboding by the minute. And not long after they made camp it began to rage, as lightning begins to strike all around them, and hail the size of fists pound down into the ground. They make a mad dash into the village to find more sturdy shelter, finding only one building that would be sturdy enough that has a sign looming over it; Dr Facilier's Voodoo emporium. When they approached the door itself it opened by itself allowing them in, and as they all entered warily seeing a room full of bits, bobbles, and voodoo dolls. Sitting at a table at the far end of the room was a man many in Ulrok have seen before, Dr Facilier himself. He is a fortune teller, potion seller, and other various magic dealer. He greeted them and offered them sanctuary from the storm, letting them know they have been caught in a peace storm. After some discussion he began to read some of their fortunes, revealing he knew of their quest and informs them that he has the very item they seek. He offers to trade it to the party in return for something he himself seeks, a blade wielded by an ancient warrior in a nearby graveyard. He tells them an angry spirit is guarding it and will not allow him to approach but a third party might have a chance to claim it. They agree unhappily to the trade and set out after the storm has passed to the graveyard, where they wander around aimlessly for awhile before they find the tomb they seek. However the deeper into the graveyard they went the denser of a fog they faced, until they heard a piercing howl sound from behind them while they faced the tomb. Before them was a spectral black hound with radiant eyes, it warned them that they would regret trying to steal from the heroes of the past before attacking them. After a hard battle the party emerged the victors, however they were even more wary about the deal they had made, wondering if they were on the right side. However they moved forward with claiming the sword after a rest. When they returned to Facilier they were skeptical and began planning outside his door, however unbeknownst to them at the time Facilier had moved to let them in and over heard them. Believing them to be planning to double cross him he separated one off from the others, conveniently it was Brenviel who was in possession of the blade he sought, and after some persuasion from both side they finished the trade. And the party set out to return to Ulrok, Gem in hand. Ch3 epilogue 1; The fate of the blade: After the party had left Facilier made his move, he hung the giant mask he uses to contact his patron Mammon the Archduke of Greed. He struck a deal to sell the blade, which unbeknownst to the party was an angelic seal, the true name of an angel. From the seal he managed to buy back his soul, and a favor from Mammon to call in at any time he wishes. With his soul free and a favor in his pocket Facilier moves to greener pastures, with the small fortune he amassed in his time as a warlock to set himself up for life. Ch3 epilogue 2; Repairing the ring: With the gem now in their possession the party meets with PT One, who began work on attempting to mend the ring. Expecting it to be fairly complicated and dangerous, he used mechanical canaries to insert the gem back into the ring. However the moment they become one, the ring began to shake violently sending out sparks of energy, and leaking blue vapors. Before the gem shattered releasing a large cloud of the vapor which formed into a humanoid figure, the newly released entity introduced himself as Asun the Luminous. And explained that he was trapped there for a very long time, and that he is what is known as a Djinn. In thanks for his released he promised when he was needed by Ulrok he would show up to help, he then scooped up a few of the present adventurers to use as tour guides of the city. Chapter 4: The freelance dragon hunter As the other party is sent to hunt down the gem, another group is rallied to seek out Holger Clauberg. His last known location was in Xynnar-Zeffari's Hunter's circle, the party gathered consisted of Nova, Vorhazar, and Clair. After a short briefing they departed through the teleportation circles, finding themselves in a cavern with a note telling them if they don't want to die from the traps to call out. However due to a misunderstanding they attempted to sneak through activating some of the traps, and sounding an alarm causing a half ogre to showup aiming a small Ballista at them warning them to stop. And after a short bit the leader of the group showed up and after some intense debate(And the party being called idiots a bunch) They managed to talk their way out. And after being guided through the desert to Zeffari they looked around for the circle, being wary of the lawlessness of the city. Upon arrival they asked around and discovered that he was currently at a job out in a settlement named Lakeshire, and Vorhazar was warned that they didn't like his kind(However he misunderstood thinking that the informant was referring to him being a dragonborn). And as such they set out again, this trip taking several days, but after awhile they reach the settlement. It is a town of roughly 800, and most everyone the party saw was female, and the few men they did see were in rags. Vorhazar drawing many gazes of disdain. And after some more inquiries they were informed to talk to Mayor Ursa Roleem. Upon arrival they were greeted by her husband who was in slightly better but still dismal clothing, and lead them to the Mayor. Where after some discussion and persuasion they obtained Holger's location, and that he was hunting a Wyvern nest that was plaguing the town. However he has been gone for a considerable amount of time, and the party was told that if he perished and the party finished the job they would get his payment. So they set out into the nearby mountains, and after a short trek they discovered a rope hanging from a cave a ways up the cliff. After ascending it they find themselves in a cave that contains two dead wyverns and a man slumped up against a wall covered in a viscous ooze holding a sword, when they warily approach they identify him as the man they are after, but are dismayed to find him in fact dead. However as they take the blade they hear weak sounds coming from behind them, and as they investigate they find a small wyvern barely able to move apparently suffering from starvation. Vorhazar decides to take it with them to raise it into a asset for the Rangers. And as such they make their way back to Ulrok, mostly a failure, but they at least retrieved his blade so not all was lost. Chapter 5: Hesodra's fall Coming soon